booter1 I stareted to reply this morning but got rundown by the kids. Anyways youyr strategy is pretty sound. Personally I have had tough luck getting any landlord to sign more then a 1 year lease. Actually as a landlord myself I would not lock into any more then a 1 year lease as well. Also my needs as a tenant are pretty demanding due to kids, pets and live in grandma.. so we need the big yard, the full room and full bath downstairs, and the bigger home, plus it needs to be within a certain distance to my office, wifes office and preschool. Our budget is below yours but yours sounds very realistic for the area and the schools in Solana are great. I think you will get more home for your money in Encinitas compared to Carmel Valley and you will not be crammed in as tight as all the new homes in CV are right on top of each other in the price range you are talking about. There is a nice 4/3 on Calle Anacapa in the Olivenheim area but you wanted a 5 bedroom so that doesnt quite cut it for ya. Keep your eyes peeled on craigslist. If I see anything nice on the MLS I will post it on here for you as well. Are you partial to any other neighborhoods?
